High School Yearbooks
by star gazing girl
Summary: Ever wonder why our favorite Turks are the way they are? Perhaps their old yearbooks can answer that question...R&R, no flames!


High School Yearbooks

Chapter 1: Rude.

It come as no suprise to anyone when Rude finally announced that his tiny one bedroom apartment was too small for him and Sasha, his new German Shepard. The canine had a bad habit of chewing on Rude's underwear and sofa when he was away; after the sofa caved in when Rude sat on it, he decided that Sasha needed her own room. But where to put her? The kitchen didn't have a door, he didn't have a dining room, the living room was out of the question and Rude's bathroom was a tiny cell, barely large enough for the sink, toilet and tub. The answer came, finally, when Elena had announced that she planned to move to smaller apartment. She insisted her 3 bedroom apartment was far too large for just her, and she also insisted that she had already picked out her new home and roommate. Quickly, Rude paid a few months of rent and began to pack up his belongings. But upon seeing the crowded bookshelves, the full packing boxes that were falling apart, and the junk piled in corners, he did what any person facing an impossible situation would do. He called someone else to pack up for him.

"Just put everything in a box. I'll sort through it when I get home--I mean, to my new apartment." Rude instructed Reno, Tseng and Elena. "Tseng, make sure Reno doesn't go sorting through my stuff and steal something. Elena, you stay out of my room. I don't want anymore females trying to chew on my underwear."

"I'm not a dog!"Elena objected indignately.

"So?" Rude asked bluntly. He hooked the leash through the dog's collar. "I just have to walk Sasha down to the park so she can do her business. Then I'll be right back."

"Rude, the park is at least an hour away from here!" Tseng said suddenly. "Don't you think she should just use a puppy pad for today?"

"The world is her puppy pad. I'll be back in a few hours." Rude said firmly. With that, he escorted the yapping Sasha out the door.

"Coward." Reno muttered. He glanced around at the empty packing boxes and then the tiny rooms. "How long do you think we'll be here?" He asked, picking up an armload of clean folded clothes and dumping them in the box, somehow managing to unfold and wrinkle everything without trying.

"Forever." Elena grumbled, still upset over Rude's comment about chewing underwear. "I can't believe he'd just leave like that!" She knocked a few expensive looking frames into the box; the sound of glass breaking came from the box, but she simply ignored it, picked up his bowling ball bag, and threw that on top of the delicate frames. "And has he ever heard of a color besides beige and white?" Indeed, the room was mostly pale colored and plain; the brightest color in the room was Reno's hair.

Tseng ignored the grumbling Turks and headed into Rude's room to move the books off the shelves and into a box. He actually didn't mind the work; Rude had helped him wrestle his massive sofa up 5 flights of stairs to his apartment when Tseng moved. The least he could do was put some stuff in boxes for him. Tseng skimmed the titles of the thick novels as he laid them carefully in the box. _The Cetra's Numerical system? The life and times of the first Shinra? Who reads this stuff, anyway? _Tseng thought. He pulled out the least dusty book and read the cover. The Shinra Employee Handbook. _We have a handbook? I never knew. _He mused. He opened the book to a random page and discovered that the text was highlighted and notes had been hastily scribbled down, as if Rude had memorized the entire book. He dropped it in the box and turned to the bookshelf. A thin book was wedged between the wall and bookshelf. Curious, Tseng pulled it out and read the faded title. _The Shin-Ra Military Academy Yearbook. _ Forgetting his task, Tseng sat on the neatly made bed and opened the yearbook. Dozens of notes covered the pages. _Rude, I love you forever and ever and ever! Call me as soon as you can or if you get tired of Rela. Love, Permi. _A girl's handwriting in bright pink letters caught Tseng's eye. He read the notes hastily; But, unexpectedly, none of them seemed to fit the quiet, strict Rude that he knew.

Reno popped his head the door. "Hey! We have work to do, Tseng. Get up!" He said in annoyance. Then his eyes fell on the book. "Whatcha reading?" Reno asked.

"A yearbook. Rude's yearbook, to be exact." Tseng replied. He extended the thin book. "Do you want to look?"

Reno flopped down on the bed and began thumbing through the pages. Then he pointed. "Hey, look! It's Rude!" He exclaimed. Then a look of confusion crossed his face. "They must have mixed up the pictures. Rude doesn't have hair."

Tseng bent over to examine the portrait. Sure enough, the picture did have a young man with wavy black hair and a flirtaous grin. "That can't be Rude." He said blankly.

Elena walked in. "Hello, I'm not cleaning the entire house by myself. Put down that book and come help me." She said sharply. Neither man moved. "I said come on!" She snarled. Stomping over to them, she reached for the book...and paused as she spotted the so-called Rude picture. "Is that supposed to be Rude?" She asked curiously.

"Apparently." Reno grinned. "Hey, look! Rude's name is Rudolph Kyln!" He began to chuckle at some private joke as the door opened and then closed.

"Almost done?" Rude asked casually as he and Sasha trotted in the room. "Hey, my yearbook! Put that down!" He said sharply.

"Why?" Tseng asked curiously. "Who's Rela...and why do you have hair in this picture? What's going on?"

Rude flopped on the bed beside his friends, reaching a hand down and patting Sasha. "Do I have to tell you?"

"Yes." Elena quipped. She moved over as Sasha hopped up on Rude's bed and then snuggled against him.

"Well...when I was in high school, I was a flirt. Girls knew me as their heart throb, and I enjoyed it. I worked hard to get my repuation going as the hottest man in Shin-Ra Military Academy. But finally, I made it. I enjoyed being on the football team--dating cheerleaders, going to keggers, seeing girls admire me and want to date me. I had my cake and ate it for years. Finally...I started dating the head cheerleader named Rela. Instead of getting a new girlfriend for every weekend, I got pretty serious with Rela. Finally, though, Rela came and told me that she was pregnant. I promised myself that I wouldn't ever get involved again with a girl." Rude broke off and patted Sasha affectionately.

"What happened to Rela and the baby?" Tseng asked gently. "You've never mentioned either before."

Rude arched his eyebrows. "Because I had neither. Rela had a DNA test done, and it turned out that the baby's father was another football player. She left me so quick it made my head spin. Now she and the baby live in Wall Market...I think she works at the Honeybee Inn." Rude stood up and reached for the book.

"That still doesn't explain why you used to have hair and now don't." Reno pointed out.

Rude smiled. "I shaved my head when I found out my second girlfriend had a kid. As long as my head's shaved, I remember." He said, only slightly sarcastic.

Elena looked at Tseng. "Is he serious?" She whispered.

Reno rolled his eyes and jumped off the bed. "Hey, RUDOLPH!" He shouted gleefully. "Can you help me shave my head too?"

Tseng looked around the room, frowned, and then grabbed Sasha's leash. "Come on." He told the dog. "You need to be walked again." He said softly. Then he tiptoed out of the room and shut the door.


End file.
